The congressman who won the Values Voters Summit straw poll tells Christianity Today that he believes marriage is a sacrament but laws cannot change morality.

Texas Rep. Ron Paul won a straw poll at the Family Research Council’s Values Voters Summit on October 8, receiving 37 percent of the vote at the social conservative convention. Family Research Council President Tony Perkins downplayed the results some, saying that 600 people registered Saturday morning left after Paul spoke. “I think people are still in the process of deciding where they want to go,” Perkins told reporters.

Herman Cain took 23 percent and former Sen. Rick Santorum took 16 percent. Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann won 8 percent while former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney received 4 percent of the vote.

In his speech, Paul emphasized personal responsibility, using the example of Jesus’ response to prostitution. “He didn’t call for more laws. But he was very direct and thought that stoning was not the solution to the problem of prostitution,” he told the crowd. “So do laws take care of these things, or do we need a better understanding of our Christian values and our moral principles?” In an interview with Christianity Today following his speech, Paul explained why he doesn’t think the government can create morality.

Do you approach this audience differently than you would another group?
Well I approached the audience the way I have been asked to approach the audience. [FRC] asked for a nonpolitical speech and they asked for me to talk about family. But no, I wouldn’t do that on an average stump speech — I wouldn’t talk about Christian values. I would talk more about the political process. So this is different, but they wrote me some instructions for tax purposes and other things that it wasn’t supposed to be political.

Do you see your faith informing your policy or are you mostly interested in ideas that are pragmatic?
How can your faith be divorced from your everyday living? I don’t see any conflict — I think that they do have an influence, obviously.

Can you talk about your faith background? For instance, did you have a conversion experience?
Not as some others describe it. I think the most important religious experience I had was when I was raised in a Lutheran church where confirmation was very important. Church was obviously very important. We all went to church every week as a family affair. But confirmation was when we got to be teenagers and make a decision to go through the lessons and study and learn and make a commitment. At home, birthdays were something, but no parties. Of course it was during World War II and the Great Depression, so there weren’t a lot of parties, but there was an acknowledgement. But confirmation was a very important event. Everybody in the family came and it was acknowledged. Yes, I remember that very clearly, because we were old enough to make a commitment and that was when the commitment was made.

You’re no longer Lutheran, though?
No, we go to a Baptist church with our children.

Which Baptist church?
First Baptist Church in Lake Jackson (Texas)

You raised your kids in the church, is that right?
All of our children were raised in the Episcopal Church. Some [places] were fairly conservative but my wife and I thought the Episcopal Church advocated a position that we didn’t endorse, so we left. And our children did not stay in the Episcopal Church either.

Related to specific issues?
I think it was the abortion issue. I imagine they had some other issues. But I think the abortion issue was the real big thing. And I think also some of the money was going to some of the international organizations that were more political—they weren’t missionaries. So it was an objection over the way some of the money was being spent.

How would you describe your faith at this point: Baptist, evangelical, Christian, something else?
I’m not a hyphenated Christian. I believe. I am a Christian and I believe in it, and I am influenced by my upbringing and my understanding and my biblical understanding. I don’t think there are ever two people who are exactly the same, so I don’t usually use hyphenation.

How would your faith shape the way you approach social issues, such as same-sex marriage?
Biblically and historically, the government was very uninvolved in marriage. I like that. I don’t know why we should register our marriage to the federal government. I think it’s a sacrament. I think it should be biblical, and politically I don’t like to fight with people who disagree with me, as long as they don’t force their views on me. So for that reason, I think the real solution to some of this argument is to have less government, rather than government dictating and forcing understanding on different people. I don’t think much can be achieved. As I mentioned in my talk, Christ doesn’t come and beg and plead for more laws. He pleads for more morality, and I think that’s very important.

If you were appointing a Supreme Court justice, would the issue of marriage be a factor?
The issue of the Constitution would be a factor. Because the Constitution is very clear on what we can do and can’t do. I would like to know, really, what their belief of the First Amendment is: Are they going to protect religious freedom? Are they going to protect homeschooling? These things are very, very important, but it’s probably — I’d want to know what they think about the First Amendment, and how big they think the government is. Because if they think that we have to have massive expansion of government, I see that, as I tried to explain, as a massive attack on the family. If you substitute the government for the family, this is a detriment.

What about with religious liberty in foreign policy? How should the U.S. approach religious liberty issues in countries like Iran and Afghanistan?
By striving for perfection here and setting a good standard so that people would come and say America is a wonderful place. It’s free and prosperous, just like de Tocqueville said in the 1850s.

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